Pressure-regulating valve.



Patented lune I9, 1900.

E. A. MARSH. PRESSURE REGULATING VALVE.

(Application led Mar. 10, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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UNITED STATES ELON A. MARSH, BATTLE CREEK, MICHIGAN.

PRESSURE-REGU LATING VALVE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent N0. 651,927, dated June 19, 1900.

Application filed MarchnlO 189 9 .To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, ELON A. MARSH, a citizen of the United States, residing at Battle Creek, county of Calhoun, State of Michigan,- have invented a certain newl and useful Im-4 provement in Pressure-Regulating Valves; and I declare the following to bea full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it pertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, which form a part of this specification.,V

This invention relates to pressure-regulating valves, and has for its object an improvement in valves that are intended to be used in systems of water distribution where it is desired for any purpose to reduce the high pressure in the water-main to a lower pressure in the service-pipe.

The invention is especially useful in those systems of water distribution where lthe pressurein the Water-main is liable to sudden and considerable variations of pressure, and the valve embodying the invention is capable of reducing or will reduce leither a very high or a moderately high pressure to any given or desired lower pressure, and the pressure in the service-pipe will be constant, although the pressure in the main may vary greatly.

The valve is equally adapted for use in connection with any other fluids than water, generally speaking, the character of the fluid being entirely immaterial. The reduction of pressure being accomplished by the valve, it follows that the outliow fromthe delivery e'nd of the service-pipe isconstant without regard to the pressure of fluid in the main.

The device is extremely simple, easily made, and is not liable to get out of order because of its simplicity. When fluids under pressure pass through an oriiice to a lower pressure, the velocity of said oriticial discharge varies as the square root of the net pressure. When the diiierence of pressure is constant, the amount of fluid which will `pass through an orice varies directly as the area of the orifice. When the size of the orifice is fixed by the lift of the valve and said valve is operated in one direction by Huid-pressure and in the other and opposing direction by a Serial No. 708,492. (No model.)

spring, so that the valve itself acts as a piston, thecompression of said spring, and consequently the oritcial capacity of the reducing-valve, varies directly as the net pressure. From the law of hydraulics already stated it is evident thatcwhen the oriicial area varies directil-575es` thenet pressure the amount of iinidiispharged at various pressures varies as the square rootof the pressure. Vithout a variation of pressure fluids will not move at all, and if a conduit having iiuidsunder .pressure has an orifice (no matter how small) there will be a flow of the fluid and a proof that at the mouth of said orifice the pressure is reduced. Unless the supply-pipe in this type of pressure-reducer is large compared with the orifice th rough the valve the power of the iiuid to oppose the tension of the spring is weakened by the ow and consequent reduction of pressure, as the orifice enlarges by the openingof the valve. If the pressures before and after reduction approximate closely, the energy of the iiuid to move the valve is nearly imperceptible. On the other hand, if these pressures are widely different the power of the fluid to move the valve is greater and therange of power to operate the valve is vgreater than the range of pressure employed.

To obviate this diiiiculty, a secondary chamber is employed in the more successful class of reducing-valves heretofore made, and in this secondary chamber are located the spring and piston, which bya rod connection operate the reducingvalve. Thus modied the regulator approximates by complication of its parts andstructure more nearly to a device wherein the variation in the opening of the valve is directly as the pressure. Manifest-ly any method of operating a reducing-valve which does not result in oriiicial variation proportional to the square root of the pressure employed is radically wrong and cannot approximate to iheoretic results except with springs of specific tension operating within narrow limits of variation in pressure.

By the device herein shown and described I am able to construct a reducing-valve w'herein the oriicial capacity varies as the square root of the pressure employed. Moreover, the mechanism employed is of the simplest and most practical form and is not limited in IOO its action toany known-pressures. Without modication it is at once a pressure-regulator or red ucing-Valve and a volumeter. Vith equal facility it controls the flow of gases and of other iiuids, and its eiiiciency is not impaired by the weakening of pressure, dueV to oricial variation. f

Specifically the device consists of a pistonvalve whose opposite sides are exposed to differential pressures obtained from the iiuid under pressure as it passes into the cylinder' containing the pistonfvalve and out again through orifices of predetermined or variable area.

In the drawings Figure l shows a lonofitudii h 5 b t7 nal-vertical section of the valve with the valve closed. Fig. 2 shows the valve open.

A is the main casing or body of the device,

andA' is a cylindrical chamber formed in said main body.

Bisau inlet-passage connected with the high-pressure pipe, and B' is the outlet or low-` pressure passage. l'

C isa pistonV nicely but loosely fitted to the bore of the cylinder A'.

C' is an annular flange on the lower part of the.` piston C. The inner wall of this liange expands in diameter as it recedes from the surface of the piston, and the area of its least internal diameter, as shown, is equal to one-A half (the area of the diameter of the piston C. D is the cylinder-cover, provided with a alsolescapethrough the passages a' and a".into the passagehand nally into theoutlet-passage B'. As soon as there is any pressure in lthe passage B' there will be back pressure in the passage b, and when the pressure in the passages B.' and b is sufficient to raise the pistonA D" the passage a' will be restricted or closed by the rise of the piston D", and the pressure iu chamber A will approximate t0 "will close and press tightly'upon its seat.

that inchamber B, and the piston-valve C If thepressure in chamber'B' isthen'reduced,

the,passage-a'.4 will again open by the fall of the piston D", '(now actuated by the weight FIZ) and the pressure in the chamber A', which one leading intol and the other leading out of the chamber A'-are of equal area and the n same quantity of iiuid passesthrougheach in a given time, it will-be proof that thenet prese same in each case.

sure-which produces such iiow will be the Thus if the pressure in fchamber B is one hundred pounds to the cylindrical chamberD',whose walls hang into the chamber A.

YD'is asmall piston operating in the cylinder4 D'.

VD4' is an annular groove in thepiston D", midrway between the ends thereof.

. D""is a connecting-rod pivoted at one endA cothe piston. D" aud'at its opposite end to the lever-E.

E' isaffulcrurn o f the lever E, and E" isa weight arranged to slide along the leverv E.

-1 rcuis a small passage leading from the passageBto the chamber A'.

cr' isa smallpassage leading from the chamsquare inch and tne pressure 1n the chamber iB' is two pounds to the square inch the pres-V gsure in chamber A' will beintermediate, or @fifty-one pounds onthe square inch, Again,

if the outlet-passage a' has an areasmaller than the inlet-passage a the same quantity of gwater cannot passthroughl it in a given time, @except at a greater velocity,`and such infcreased velocity is attainable onlywitlh a 5 higher relative pressure. If'the relative 'presi lsu-re in the chamber A' is higher, the piston I,will have greater pow-er to close the main valve, and if said relative' pressure -in the IOO IIO

ber A'to'the chamber D', between theupper and lower ends of the piston D.

b is;av passage leading from the chamber D' below the'` piston D to the outlet-passage B'.

a" is a small passage opposite to the passage a', leading from the chamber D' to the passageb.

'F isa set-screw'for regulating the capacity orcross-sectional area of the passage a.

l The-operation of' this device is as follows: When the parts are in position shown in Fig. l and a iiuid under pressure is admitted. into sure, will be lifted from its seat on the orifice between: the passages B and B and the fluid willpass throughsaid orifice. Simultaneously chamber A' isreduced the valvetends toopen wider. To establish any constant pressure inthe` low-pressure chamberB' ,facilities are afforded by the lever-arm E and weight E", sinc'ethe weight E" is movable along the lever-arm E, and if carried beyond the fulcrum E", soas to overbalance the weight of the piston D" and its connected parts, the passage 0, willbe closed and the device .becomes inoperative as Ea'pressure-regulator; but it will perform the functions of a stop-valve to the extent o'fholdl fing the valve tightly to itsfseat. the-chamber B, the valve-piston C, having a portion of its lower area exposed to this pres- What I claim is- In a fluid-pressure regulator, ahigh pres ,sure chamber B,a low-pressureA chamber B', and an auxiliary chamber A', a piston-valve C, adaptedto be raised by the pressure-in the f' chamber B, acting against a part of` one of its surfaces, and closed by a pressure in the chamber A', a chamber D', apiston D", provided with a groove D4, in the chamber D', a passage a, between the chambers B, and A', a passage a', between the chambers A', and D', between the ends of the piston D", a passage b, communicating with the chamber D', below the piston D", and with the chamber B', a passage a", between the cylinder D', and passage b, between the ends of the piston D",

and'means for weighting the piston D", substantially as shown and described. 1o

In testimony whereof I sign this specication in the presence of two witnesses. ELON A. MARSH. 

